Another gas mileage question...advice please.

[doctorcarta]

alright,here i go...so i got my first 4runner back in December of '07 and recorded the following stats:

1/8/08(full tank)
212miles before gas light came on
47miles until the car died
Total= 259miles tank

roughly 3 weeks ago i got my timing belt,water pump and major service tune-up done by the "stealership" and today i recorded the following stats:

1/29/08(full tank /w seafoam)
205 miles before gas light came on...

i am so upset that i didn't even want to see how far the 4runner would go until it died...i don't understand why my gas mileage didnt improve...?

insight anyone?

thanks!

 

[Even Steven]

So your light came on 7 miles earlier and you're upset? Are you serious?

 

[240K'97T4R]

That little bit of difference could be from driving less on a highway the second time, or accelerating harder. Lots of things can determine those seven miles and you can't count on driving the exact same way every time. The only way to really determine if your mileage got any better would be to count the exact number of rotations which you couldn't do.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

When my truck is running well and with minimal highway driving I get 245-265 but I've never driven mine til it died.

 

[pat161]

I had been driving my 02 unhappy with the power and MPG, I actually felt that my 00 2.7 5 speed was peppier than the 02. Then while installing new springs and shocks my buddy noted how loud my fan was on the test drive and suggested that my fan clutch may not be working properly. Lo and behold he was correct, the clutch was not kicking on and my fan was always spinning with full power. I am under the platinum warranty but mainly bought it for the 01-02 tranny issue, which I hope not to have, so I did the fan clutch myslef. Cost me $120 w/ a lifetime warranty and took all of 10 minutes. It is like driving a different vehicle, my MPG are up and my truck actually has power now, I can't believe I never figured this out sooner. So if you constantly hear the woosh of the fan, like when accelerating, swap out that fan clutch. On a side note my truck used to downshift or unlock the T/C on most hills heading up 89 and 91 in VT, last weekend it climbed the hills in OD and only unlocked the converter a few times and never hit 3rd, I was pleased.

 

[kat]

So your light came on 7 miles earlier and you're upset? Are you serious?

Look at it this way -- I think he was probably more upset that he didn't see a dramatic increase in MPG after shoveling a few hundred into the timing belt and tune up...

 

[4runny]

Look at it this way -- I think he was probably more upset that he didn't see a dramatic increase in MPG after shoveling a few hundred into the timing belt and tune up...

I agree...If I had put that much money into it, I would hope to at least get some gain on mpg.

 

[doctorcarta]

Look at it this way -- I think he was probably more upset that he didn't see a dramatic increase in MPG after shoveling a few hundred into the timing belt and tune up...

finally!

thanks

 

[skymoney]

Would running seafoam or maybe even lucas fuel system cleaner in your tank help your MPG?

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Use a can of BGs 44K in the tank and it will help clean things up. It's about $20 a can but I've been running one can a year in everything I own since '94.

 

[doctorcarta]

Use a can of BGs 44K in the tank and it will help clean things up. It's about $20 a can but I've been running one can a year in everything I own since '94.

where do you purchase it? autozone , walmart?

thx

 

[drmorbius]

alright,here i go...so i got my first 4runner back in December of '07 and recorded the following stats:

1/8/08(full tank)
212miles before gas light came on
47miles until the car died
Total= 259miles tank

roughly 3 weeks ago i got my timing belt,water pump and major service tune-up done by the "stealership" and today i recorded the following stats:

1/29/08(full tank /w seafoam)
205 miles before gas light came on...

i am so upset that i didn't even want to see how far the 4runner would go until it died...i don't understand why my gas mileage didnt improve...?

insight anyone?

thanks!

If that engine has a MAF sensor you might try cleaning it as shown elsewhere in this forum. Thats one thing the dealer wouldn't do. Also be sure they changed the air filter and that there is no intake blockage. Sounds like it runs rich. I'd love to see the plugs the dealer pulled out. Do you get black smoke at the tailpipe?

 

[doctorcarta]

Re: Re: Another gas mileage question...advice please.

If that engine has a MAF sensor you might try cleaning it as shown elsewhere in this forum. Thats one thing the dealer wouldn't do. Also be sure they changed the air filter and that there is no intake blockage. Sounds like it runs rich. I'd love to see the plugs the dealer pulled out. Do you get black smoke at the tailpipe?

im currently looking for information(directions) on how to clean my MAF sensor. to my knowledge, there was no black smoke around the tailpipe.

thanks

 

[02SE]

alright,here i go...so i got my first 4runner back in December of '07 and recorded the following stats:

1/8/08(full tank)
212miles before gas light came on
47miles until the car died
Total= 259miles tank

roughly 3 weeks ago i got my timing belt,water pump and major service tune-up done by the "stealership" and today i recorded the following stats:

1/29/08(full tank /w seafoam)
205 miles before gas light came on...

i am so upset that i didn't even want to see how far the 4runner would go until it died...i don't understand why my gas mileage didnt improve...?

insight anyone?

thanks!

Just a couple of things; The timing belt and water pump replacement would do nothing as far as changing MPG.

A tune-up would change MPG, if the vehicle were previously way out of tune. Most likely it wasn't severely out of tune, prior to the tune-up.

Running the truck until empty, is a bad idea. The fuel pump is in the gas tank, and is lubricated and cooled by the gas in the tank. Running until empty, will shorten the fuel pumps life.

There is usually a bit of sediment in the bottom of gas tanks. When you run until empty, the fuel pump will pick-up this sediment, and quickly clog the filter that's on the fuel inlet of the fuel pump.

The difference in total miles driven between your two scenarios, is too small to determine anything.

Different ambient temps., driving route, driving style, etc. could all easily account for the slight difference.

My advice; I wouldn't worry about the MPG as much. The 4Runner is not an economy car, but it gets decent MPG for what it is.

Good luck. :

 

[RonMAIDEN]

The fuel pump doesn't sit on the bottom of the tank and there will always be a bit more than a gallon left in the tank for this reason but it's still not good to run the tank to "empty".

BGs 44K can be bought at most dealerships and I know Pep Boys sells it.

 

[doctorcarta]

The fuel pump doesn't sit on the bottom of the tank and there will always be a bit more than a gallon left in the tank for this reason but it's still not good to run the tank to "empty".

BGs 44K can be bought at most dealerships and I know Pep Boys sells it.

dont have a pep boys...i guess, ill call my local toyota dealership.

thanks

 

[02SE]

The fuel pump doesn't sit on the bottom of the tank and there will always be a bit more than a gallon left in the tank for this reason but it's still not good to run the tank to "empty".

Yes, it mounts to the top of the gas tank, which is pretty much standard in the industry. But it hangs down to nearly the bottom of the tank. As you said, there will always be a small amount of fuel in the tank, that the pump inlet doesn't reach.

Regardless, when the pump is no longer picking up fuel, the internal moving parts of the pump are not being lubricated. Also when the pump is no longer surrounded by fuel, it will run hotter.

Both shorten the useful life of the pump. :